


The Nara Beginning

by FanGirlofManyThings



Series: Adventures at the Kunai [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, stories of the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-19 23:04:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14882912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanGirlofManyThings/pseuds/FanGirlofManyThings
Summary: Shikamaru learns the true story of how his parents got together.





	The Nara Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> The second story in my Kunai Adventures series! 
> 
> Introducing the bartender, Hideki, Hideki is my original character and will probably show up in other stories in this series.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Shikaku Nara! I knew I’d find you here!” Yoshino yelled from the doorway of The Kunai, finger pointing at her husband. She was backlit by the bright sunshine streaming into the dim bar. “I told you we needed to go over the finances today!”

Shikaku’s smile fell right off his face at the sound of his wife’s voice. Choza and Inochi however began howling with laughter at their friend. The old barman, Hideki, just shook his head with a knowing smile as he cleaned the glasses in front of him.

Shikaku had been hoping to avoid the yearly review of the clan’s finances by hiding out at The Kunai with his friends. He had told Yoshino something about a meeting with the Hokage and left before she could say anything. Apparently she knew him too well. 

“Told you couldn’t hide from her long,” Inochi managed to get out in between his laughter. 

“Shut up,” Shikaku grumbled. “A man can try, can’t he.”

“Oh sure a man can try,” His wife said sweetly in his ear, now standing directly behind his barstool. “But his wife will always win in the end.” 

“Hello dear,” Shikaku greeted her with a overly large smile.

Yoshino said nothing, simply crossed her arms over her chest and gave her husband a hard look. He stared back for a moment before sighing in defeat. Shikaku stood and placed a few coins on the bar without another word.

“Have a good one, Shikaku,” Hideki said as he collected the money.

Shikaku nodded at the old man. Yoshino turned on her heel and marched out of the bar without a backward glance, confident Shikaku would follow; and follow he did, hands in his pockets. 

“Curse this bar,” Shikaku grumbled as he crossed the threshold, shaking his head, a fond smile played on his face.

No sooner had he disappeared through the open doorway than Kiba and Shikamaru stepped inside. Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder at the retreating figures of his parents. 

“Back from your mission already?” Hideki called across the mostly empty bar.

Shikamaru nodded as he slid into the barstool his father had just vacated. He held up two fingers and Hideki nodded. 

“I thought you said it would take three days?” Hideki asked conversationally as he poured two beers.

“Less security than expected,” Shikamaru explained.

“Why was old man Nara cursing this place?” Kiba asked sliding into the empty barstool on Shikamaru’s left.

His question sent Choza and Inoichi into a fit of laughter again. Slapping the bar top and leaning each other for support as though Kiba had told the funniest joke. Shikamaru watched their antics out of the corner of his eye and sighed. 

“He always says that after Yoshino drags him out of here,” Hideki answered. “He’ll be back though, just as soon as he can give her the slip again.”

“Yeah but why curse the bar if he’s just gonna come back?” Kiba asked as he accepted a beer from Hideki.

“This is where he met Yoshino,” Choza said 

“She used to come in here with a group of kunoichi,” Inoichi said. “And well we haven’t really changed, the three of us still come here.”

“He spent a couple months watching her,” Choza chuckled. “I suspect he thought he was being discrete. But one night she had had enough.”

“Might have been that very barstool, now that I think about it,” Inoichi said nodding to where Shikamaru sat. “She walked right up to him and said…”

_“Are you going to ask me out or just keep staring at me?” Yoshino asked hands folded across her chest._

_“W-what?” Shikaku stuttered trying not to spill his beer._

_Choza and Inoichi stifilled their laughter behind their mugs._

_“I said are you going to ask me out?” Yoshino’s voice now held an air of impatience._

_“No?” Shikaku tried to sound firm but it came out sounding a bit like a question._

_“Fine,” Yoshino scowled at him. “But quit staring at me then.”_

“He said no?” Kiba said incredulously.

“Mom always said it took a few tries to get dad off his lazy ass,” Shikamaru said lazily. “I’m not surprised. She’s a difficult woman.”

Kiba glanced at his friend out of the side of his eye, “Yes, because you have such a taste for docile women.”

Shikamaru merely scowled at his friend and went back to his beer. Kiba let out a short barking laugh, throwing his head back.

“So Inochi,” He called over Shikamaru. “What happened next?”

“For a couple weeks Shikaku quit staring at her everytime she came in with her friends,” Inochi answered. “And for a while Choza and I figured he was over whatever infatuation he had with her. Until one night he slammed his empty beer on the bartop and declared …”

_"I’m gonna do it!”_

_“Do what?” Choza asked, raising one eyebrow at his friend._

_“I’m going to ask Yoshino out,” Shikaku said confidently._

_“What?!” Choza and Inochi yelled together._

_“Yup,” and with that Shikaku slid off his barstool._

_He made his way through the crowded bar to where Yoshino and her friends were occupying a table. He stood behind her for a moment before her friends noticed him. They stopped talking and just looked at him._

_Yoshino whipped around in her seat to figure out what her friends were staring at. Only to find Shikaku staring down at her. She held his steady gaze for a moment, he stared impassively back._

_“What do you want?” She all but sneered at him._

_“I want you to go on a date with me.” He told her confidently._

_“No,” She said firmly as she turned back around in her seat, her long ponytail smacking Shikaku's arm as she did._

“She said no!” Kiba shouted, beer threatening to spill as he waved it around. 

Inoichi nodded solemnly, as though this was a great tragedy. 

“Huh,” Shikamaru mused. “She conveniently left that part out.”

Choza let out a short laugh, “I’m not surprised.”

“Alright, so then what?” Kiba asked.

“More of the same,” Inochi said taking a swig of beer. “He asked her out once a week or so for several months, always at this bar. She shot him down every time. I honestly don’t know why he kept trying; at some point you would have thought the great strategist could see a losing battle.”

“She never mentioned that,” Shikamaru said. “Always made it seem like she was the one doing the chasing.”

“That would be how she would tell it,” Choza boomed. 

“So how did he get her to say yes?” Kiba asked curiously. 

“I never was clear on that part,” Inoichi admitted looking puzzled. “Do you know, Choza?”

Choza shook his head and shrugged, “Nope. They just kinda showed up here one night holding hands. They got married about a year later and the rest is history.”

“I think I can help there,” Hideki said setting down his rag. 

“You can?” Inoichi asked. 

“Sure,” Hideki answered. “I hear a lot of things.”

“Like what?” Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow at the bartender. 

Hideki smiled, “Like Yoshino telling her friend about Shikaku showing up at her house one day.”

_“He what!?” Kana screeched._

_“You heard me,” Yoshino said calmly. “Just handed me a rose and said he was sorry he couldn’t find a flower that was my equal when it came to beauty.”_

_“Who knew he was such a romantic,” Kana said with a sigh._

_“Well I certainly didn’t,” Yoshino said shaking her head. “Then he asked me for just one date. He said if I didn’t enjoy his company I could pretend it had never happened and he would never breathe a word of it to anyone.”_

_“Wow,” Kana said. “And you said yes?”_

_“Obviously,” Yoshino rolled her eyes. “But not because of his offer to never tell anyone but because I figured he’s showed enough determination at this point. I owed the guy at least one date.”_

_“Yoshino!” Kana screeched._

_“What?!” Yoshino cried defensively. “Nara men are notoriously lazy. I couldn’t let him get off easy, even if he is attractive. I needed to make sure he really wanted to date me.”_

_Kana shook her head, “So where did he take you?”_

_Yoshino smiled, “On a lovely little picnic down by the river. We had a great time.”_

“Who knew your dad was such a romantic,” Kiba said, elbowing Shikamaru in the ribs. “Maybe you could get some tips from him.”

Shikamaru glared at his friend, “I don’t have any problems. I just don’t see the point in going home with a different woman every week. They’re too much trouble”

Kiba gave him a wolfish grin, “Gotta spread the love.” 

Inoichi shook his head fondly at the two younger shinobi. 

“Makes sense why he never told us what he did to win her over,” Choza said with a smile and a shake of his head. “A damn picnic and a rose to boot.”

“Yeah, we would have never let him live it down,” Inoichi chuckled. “Still might not.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have another story for this series in the works but feel free to leave suggestions!


End file.
